The basic humanoid frame and head are the same as my previous KHR-1HV buildup. The software and electronics have been completely changed since then.
The many electronics have been replaced with a Roboard. Veltrobot's original software is written using ROS and the IO library provided by Roboard.
The previous setup had too many limitations, for example:
- Poor video quality.
- Complilcated communication and process distribution.
- Insufficient [especially programmable] control of robot body.
Now:
- The video capture can be done on the robot.
- There's only one component, no more complex communication schemes between limited microcontrollers. Off robot processing or control can be dispatched with 802.11 or USB Bluetooth.
- Complete programmable control over the servos is available.
The current goals of this project are to achieve hand-eye coordination, and localization/navigation. These are key basics for a personal robot.
Ultimately, I would like Veltrobot to become a ready-to-go open development kit with features comparable to the Nao. But with free software (as in free as a bird) and hardware for a fraction of the cost.
